Body of God, from the "Java’s Machine: Family Chronicle" project

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About the Photographer

Jompet (Agustinus Kuswidananto)

Indonesian, b. 1976 Yogyakarta

The artist Jompet sees the history of his homeland of Indonesia as being constantly in a state of transitional tension--politically, culturally, and socially. Throughout the country’s history, outside influences have threated traditional Indonesian culture with multiple colonizers, advances in industry and technology, and globalization. Indonesian culture has absorbed multiple facets of the infringing cultures, while aspects of traditional life have still remained--a dichotomy the artist describes as syncretism. Using video, sound, and installation, Jompet’s works re-interpret Indonesian socio-cultural history, particularly with the country’s various transitions. In his multi-video and installation piece, Java’s Machine: Family Chronicle (2011), Jompet examines an estrangement between a father and son--the father representing traditional Indonesian culture and the son representing the influx of a new globalized culture--and explores the transitional state of Indonesian culture through the Indonesian family.